Choices and Consequences
by Elane
Summary: JT and Liberty's choices have life altering consequences. Jiberty, Sean, Emma, and Manny
1. Chapter 1: Lost and Found

Title: Choices and Consequences

Rating: PG13/T

Characters: Liberty, JT, Emma, Manny, Sean

Summary: Liberty and JT's choices have some interesting consequences.

Warning: Contains some spoilers/speculations made on various boards about JT/Liberty relationship this coming season.

Notes: This is a short fic, probably about three or so chapters (that's all I outlined for)… though the chapters are quite long. Enjoy!

Chapter One: Lost and Found

She shut the door behind her and sighed sadly. "It's just you and me kid," she whispered as she lightly touched her stomach.

Adjusting the tote bag strap on her shoulder, she sighed again as she looked out into the dark, rainy night and thought about all that just happened. Everything that she would need to start her life again was in the tote bag. It was weird how something insignificant such as a Degrassi Panther's sports tote bag, the official one that was given to all those involved with sports, could hold all her hopes for the future. The hopes that things will get better, that things weren't as bad as they seem, that she will survive and live a full life despite what her parents had said.

"Damn," she swore when she realized that she didn't have an umbrella with her. She dreaded having to go back in the house for one… to possibly listen to the continuation of her father's angry words and her mother's highly disappointing groans. She didn't know if she could take looking at the proud light slowly leave their eyes when they look at her; for it to be replaced with disgust, embarrassment, and even worst shame to have her as their daughter.

Turning around to face the door, she was about to knock when she noticed a small tin cylinder with two umbrellas in it, a lime green one and another one that was white with black polka dots. She slowly bent down and reached for the white with black polka dots one. Smiling, she slowly remembered childhood memories that were attached to the item: walking down a showery street holding her mother's hand in the spring, standing outside school waiting for her father to pick her up from school in the fall, even days during the summer when her and her family were at the beach and she would use the umbrella to shade herself from the sun… all were memories that were slowly fading away and leaving her. They were memories that she would never be able to laugh and share with her family again… at least not to the extent as they could before, she realized as her smile gradually fell. Opening the umbrella up, she covered her light brown, curly hair and began to slowly walk out into the night.

The more she walked down the street and out of her neighborhood, the more she regretted her decision she made. Maybe her father was right, she was too young… too young to be a mother. She was going to go through it all basically by herself, all alone anyways. Though the baby's father will be there for her, she knew he had his own inner demons to battle.

As the rain started to come down a bit more, she grasped her lightweight jacket tighter to her body and walked a bit slower. "What am I going to do?" she asked herself.

She didn't know where she could go. It wasn't like she had that many options to begin with: Manny was with Emma, who she didn't really care for at the moment; Toby and Kendra were on a date; and JT… he was already having a hard time dealing with their situation. The last thing he needed was to be even more worried about what was next for them.

She chuckled solemnly to herself as she realized how things changed drastically within a year. She was doing good last year with having straight A's, a successful field hockey season, her playwriting skills proved to be successful with the "Dracula" play, and the boy she had crushed in for four years finally returned her feelings. She was riding high into the summer.

"Liberty!"

She stopped walking as a small blue car slowly came to a stop next to her. Glancing over at the stopped car, she gave the driver a confusing look. "What are you doing here?" she asked into his rolled down window.

"We're here to help you," the girl in the front passenger side of the car said. She was leaning over the driver to make her presence known.

Liberty rolled her eyes at the passenger and turned away from them. "I'm fine…" she uttered quietly. The wind sharply blew and Liberty shivered slight as she tightened her grip on her tote bag and umbrella.

"You're not fine Liberty," he said, "please just get in the car." Lifting the hood that was attached to his jacket, he covered his head. "Come on Liberty." Stepping out of the care, he went to the back door and opened it. "If not for us, then do it for yourself."

Her stubborn demeanor slowly crumbled as she shook her head in defeat. "Okay… but I can't go back home. My father just kicked me out," Liberty said as she climbed into the backseat of the car. She closed her umbrella and set it on the floor in front of her, then set her tote bag next to her as she made herself comfortable in the middle seat.

He closed the door and then got back into the car. As he settled himself into the driver's seat, he said nothing as he shared a knowing look with his passenger at Liberty's previous words. Shifting the car into drive, from the park setting, he started down the road to their destination.

His passenger turned around from her seat and looked at Liberty. "Here's a towel and a blanket Liberty," she said as she handed her a fluffy, thick towel and a wooly blanket. "Dry off and then wrap the blanket around yourself to keep warm."

Liberty took the towel and blanket from her and did as she was told. "How did you know where I was?"

She settled back into the passenger seat and looked up into the rearview mirror. She watched Liberty as she finished wiping the water off of her and then wrapped the blanket around her body to fight off the chill. "Danny called Manny and we were with her. She's waiting for us at my house."

Liberty nodded her head slowly. Danny stuck up for her when she gave her father and mother the news of her impending pregnancy. She was thankful to have a brother like him. "Did he give you a reason?" she asked. So far the only people that knew outside of her and JT was her family.

The passenger slowly nodded her head negatively. "What's going on with you Liberty?" she asked. Though they weren't close friends anymore, she was worried about Liberty. She had seemed to change over the last couple of weeks.

Saying nothing, Liberty looked out the window trying to get lost in the designs that the streaks of rain made.

"We're your friends Liberty," he said. Usually Liberty was quick to respond back… knowing how she disliked his passenger.

Liberty continued her silence and snuggled into the warmth of the wool blanket.

Looking at his passenger's worried expression and then Liberty's lost one in the rearview mirror; he began to get concerned too. She was never one to not throw a witty remark back him. That was the nature of their friendship, they would bicker and banter; and interestingly enough they would be there for each other too. "We've been though a lot as friends, Liberty. Are you okay?" His concern was evident in his words.

Turning away from the window, she looked down into her hands. "I'm pregnant," she said as she looked up and stared at him through the rearview mirror.

It was their turn to be silent. They said nothing at Liberty's answer, mainly because not only were they surprised but they had no idea how to respond.

A part of her was glad to get the news off her chest. "Thank you Sean and Emma," she whispered softly before going back to hushed behavior and staring out the window.


	2. Chapter 2: Lies and Truths

Chapter Two: Lies and Truths

"Is she here yet?" he asked as he climbed through the window and into Emma Nelson's room.

Manny dropped the extra blankets she was carrying from the linen closet onto the bed. "No," she said with a shake of her head. "Emma called five minutes ago and said that they found her. They are on their way here."

He paced nervously in front of the bead and crossed his arms over his chest.

"JT," Manny said apprehensively, "what's going on with you two? Liberty's been spaced out for the past couple of weeks and then this happens. Danny was frantic on the phone, which by the way scared me." She sat on the bed and watched him as he continued to pace about the room.

JT stopped and looked at her. "I'm in love with Liberty…" he trailed off with a smile. "I'm in love with Liberty," he said again with more conviction. He uncrossed his arms and waved them to emphasize his statement.

Manny smiled at the happiness that JT possessed. It made her almost wish that she had never dumped him, he has grew since he's been with Liberty. "I can tell. That was the one that was obvious between you two." She patted the space next to her on the bed. "Sit…"

He stopped pacing and sat down next to her. Setting his elbow on his thighs, JT tilted his head downward resting it in his open palms. "I haven't been there for her lately," he whispered. "I have so much I've been thinking about… I just haven't been there for her."

Giving him a confusing stare, Manny put her hand on JT's back and slowly rubbed it. "What happened?" she inquired.

"You can't tell anyone this, Liberty and I have barely dealt with it ourselves," JT said as he lifted his head to look at her.

She nodded her head and crossed her heart. "No one will hear it from me."

JT looked at her and smiled tiredly. "Liberty's pregnant… and I'm totally scared of what the future holds."

Manny's hand flew to her mouth in shock. That was the last thing she expected. "Wow, how's Liberty taking it?" she asked when she removed her hand from her mouth. She knew from experience that she must be going through a lot.

Standing up, JT went back to slowly pacing the room. "I don't know… how sad is that?" he said as he stopped and looked at Manny. "I don't even know how my pregnant girlfriend is." He stopped pacing again, and ran his hand through his hair.

"JT…" Manny stood up.

"I told her, I wouldn't abandon her… and that's what I did," JT continued as if Manny wasn't there. "I just got scared, and I was reminded of my father…" he trailed off and then stared at Manny, as if she had just appeared in the room beside him.

She shook her head sorrowfully that JT's words. She knew that JT always had issues with his father, but she didn't know that they would affect him like this. Manny could remember when they and Emma were in grade six, and his home life came crashing down on him. How devastated he was, full of hurt and anger with everything that was around him; and how he used his joking attitude to cover it up.

"I don't know what to do," he spoke softly. JT's shoulder hunched over brokenly, as he sat down crossed legged on a rug that was on the floor in front of Emma's bed.

He looked defeated and torn to Manny, and she doubted that she could help him. "Does Liberty know what happened? And how you reacted to it all?" she asked. She knew the answer was probably 'no,' seeing that JT usually ignored the subject when ever it came up. Manny knew that if she and Emma weren't his friends the year before it occurred, they probably would have never known what happened either.

JT shook his head negatively while keeping his glaze on the rug he was sitting on. "I didn't want to tell her anything, so I said I just needed to think about everything that was happening," he answered. He started to pick at the material that it was made out of, not wanting to listen to Manny's next words… knowing that she would be right.

Manny sighed and sat down next to him. "She needs to know JT," she said as she stopped his hand from messing with Emma's rug. "I know that she is going through a lot, but… she needs to know."

Knowing that she was right, JT looked at her. "I need to think by myself… to figure out what I will say to her."

"Okay," Manny said as she stood up. She put her hand on JT's back and rubbed it in comfort. "Liberty will be there for you JT, if you let her… She loves you, and will be there for you and help you deal; just as I hope you do the same with her being pregnant. With all that's going on, she'll need you just as much now as before." She silently left JT to his thoughts, and went to the living room to wait for Emma, Sean, and Liberty.

JT stayed silent to himself for a few minutes trying to gather his thought and feeling about everything that was going on in his life. He could hear the silent patter of the rain, and thought about how it perfectly described his mood at the moment. Following the sound, he walked to the window and watched the steady rain beat against the glass window.

Thinking about what Manny said, JT rubbed his face tiredly. Everything was coming down so fast. He had told his mother the same day Liberty told him last week. Though she had been disappointed, she didn't react like Liberty's parents had. She was actually understanding of the whole situation… until he mentioned his father, her ex-husband.

He could never understand how a man, a husband, a father could act the way he did. He seemed to change overnight, from hero to monster. When he was younger, he didn't think he, or anyone else, could ever explain it. As he got older, he learned the truth… and vowed to stay away from alcohol.

His father began to fight, verbally and physically, with his mother all of the time. When that began to get boring to him; he would turn his attention to him. His father would ignore him, tell him he didn't love JT and more… and after a while he use to tell JT that he just despised him. His father even went as far as to blame him for the downfall of his marriage, and for cheating on his mother.

First, it was only when he was drinking; and after awhile it happened even when he wasn't drinking. That was the point when it started to scare him. The more he thought about it, the more worried he got when he thought about a family of his own.

JT always wondered if it was genetic, if the abusive part of his father was passed on to him and he would treat his wife and children the same as him and his family. He knew that that mystery of that question that terrified him more than anything. Even though he knew it was a bit silly to feel that way, a part of him couldn't help it. JT thought it would be years until he would have to question himself and his father's actions. So, when he suddenly had to face the things he didn't want to think about at his age; and a part of him began to hate that this situation was happening to him despite his feelings for Liberty.

He folded his arms and set them on the window seal; then JT laid his head on his arms and softly sighed. This was going to be hard for him; Manny was right, Liberty needed to know and he preferred that it would come from him and not someone else.

"JT?" she whispered as she set her hand on his back. She looked at him worriedly.

Turning around to face her, JT took her hand in his and softly rubbed it. "Libby…" he whispered trying to draw some of her strength to give him the courage to tell her what is going on in his life.

He looked at her and smiled slightly. Dragging her to the bed, JT sat upon it and pulled her to sit next to him. He gave her tender kiss on her cheek, and then her lips; then wrapped her in an extra blanket on the bed. "I need to tell you what's going on with me. First I want to say… I'm sorry for not telling you sooner…"


End file.
